The Hibriten Panthers boys soccer team hosted the North Gaston Wildcats Monday night in the first round of the NC High School Athletic Association 3A playoffs.
Hibriten earned a 2-1 victory to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
The Panthers entered the postseason 17-3-3 overall and 9-1 in the Northwestern 3A/4A Conference, while North Gaston has built a 9-8-4 overall record and a 6-6-2 record. in the Big South 3A Conference. .
The match started slowly for both teams, with only a few shots on goal, and continued like this throughout the first half, resulting in a 0–0 draw at halftime.
Panthers head coach Jim Blanton said the Panthers’ lack of scoring in the first half was a result of shots going off target.
“Our shots were not framed. We were looking for the spectacular,” Blanton said.
In the second half, Hibriten senior forward Miguel Ayala found the back of the net with 19:41 on the clock to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
However, just over a minute later, North Gaston responded when sophomore Daren Morales scored to tie the game at 1-1.
Hibriten continued to dominate possession throughout the second half, but the efficient execution of passes and goals that the Panthers have demonstrated this season was missing.
Blanton said part of the reason was Johnny Pineda getting back into the game.
“It’s been a long time since Johnny (Pineda) has been on the field,” Blanton said.
As regulation time expired, both teams battled through two ten-minute overtime periods, with neither team able to score a goal in the first overtime period.
During the second overtime period, Hibriten junior Jefferson Galo missed a shot, but Galo redeemed himself with 2:33 on the clock by scoring the game-winning goal to give the Panthers the 2-1 victory.
Blanton said he told Galo to keep his head up after he missed the shot.
“I told Jefferson he would get another chance after his previous failure, and he did,” Blanton said.
The Panthers will host St. Stephens (16-5-1 overall) in the second round of the playoffs on Thursday at 6 p.m.
